Even with no children in the house, I do not keep my long guns chambered. Handguns are all chambered with full mags, but if I need to take the time to get to a long gun then I have time to chamber a round.

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Norahc, to each his own. I'll not condem you for not having loaded guns in the house, but remember this, if I'm the BG coming in you home, I won't give you time to get a gun, nor load it! You probably won't know what happened to you, it will be so fast, if I do my part right. I'm there to take what I want, and I intend to leave in one piece!

Norahc, to each his own. I'll not condem you for not having loaded guns in the house, but remember this, if I'm the BG coming in you home, I won't give you time to get a gun, nor load it! You probably won't know what happened to you, it will be so fast, if I do my part right. I'm there to take what I want, and I intend to leave in one piece!

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And you wouldn't make it past the threshold. I said I never kept my long guns chambered but ALL of my handguns are chambered, and I ALWAYS have at least one on my person when I'm awake and when I'm asleep I always have two within arms reach. If it's as fast as you claim, then I wouldn't have time to get to a long gun now, would I? I would have to use the handgun that I have on my person.

Not physically in the bed, but there's one just above my head, and another just above my wife's head. Our dogs will slow anybody down enough to do what we need to do.

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I love my 870 so much I cuddle with it at night. Kidding.

I have to keep both my firearms unloaded and locked due to the wishes of my dad. I have a 6 year old step brother and I wouldn't want him hurt either. But I have been teaching him proper firearm safety (never touch a gun, all guns are loaded, etc.). I have a friend that keeps a loaded handgun on top of the fridge and has a young daughter but it is obviously out of her reach. If stuff starts to heat up in the city or there is a natural disaster you can bet my guns will be unlocked and loaded.

I have to keep both my firearms unloaded and locked due to the wishes of my dad. I have a 6 year old step brother and I wouldn't want him hurt either. But I have been teaching him proper firearm safety (never touch a gun, all guns are loaded, etc.). I have a friend that keeps a loaded handgun on top of the fridge and has a young daughter but it is obviously out of her reach. If stuff starts to heat up in the city or there is a natural disaster you can bet my guns will be unlocked and loaded.

Would a .223 get any major overpenetration?

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YES IT WOULD! I would not use a 223 in my house. That bullet could go through both ends of my trailer pretty easily. I keep a 10-22 loaded and handy. No hanguns yet. I want them, but I can't do it on unemployment.

I saw a show on the Sportsman channel l;ast week, they were talking about some of the new 223 rounds that wouldn't penetrate as far as a 9mm. Can't remember for sure, but think Hornady was one of the makers.

Even with no children in the house, I do not keep my long guns chambered. Handguns are all chambered with full mags, but if I need to take the time to get to a long gun then I have time to chamber a round.

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my thought as well, if i have time for a long gun, i can chamber a round. if it's an as fast as i can go scenario, my 226 is what i'm going for.

I have two kids. (10 & 12) Both know how to shoot & safely use a firearm. Both know where & when they can/cannot touch them.

Because of the time spent educating my kids (when they were younger) & taking away the "forbidden fruit" & "curiosity" factor, firearms are really a NON-issue for my kids. (They honestly could care LESS!!!)

But, fortunately, both have already made up their mind to CC when they are of legal age.

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Yep thats how I was raised too. And its how I'm raising my kids. But at 3 and 5 the curiosity is still way to prevalent.

2 basic reasons I will not use a rifle for home defense. Over-penetration is the first. You can mitigate some of this with bullet selection.

The second reason is lead. Or more specifically, how much lead can you throw with each round.

I live in bear country. Have had one no more than 10 feet away, with nothing between him and I but air. Had them on my deck (pressing nose against window, staring at me eye to eye) eating out of the bird feeders, on my house, etc.

Having encountered these critters on numerous occasions, I admit that it does get the adrenalin pumping.

So, I use a 12 ga. for home defense. Don't worry much about over-penetration with one of these. This is for "home defense" I am not going to be shooting 100-300 yards down range. This is for inside the home, or maybe the distance of a "regular" yard.

In answer to the OP question, there is one in the chamber, and safety is off. I do not want there to be ANY question whether the firearm is going to work, because of having to rack a round into the chamber, when my adrenalin is on overload. Not going to try to scare the bear, with the sound of pumping a round into the chamber either.

Now considering a bear just broke into your house. You can fire 40-55-69 or 90 grain bullets at him, traveling at (+ or -) 3000 fps. Which is going to punch a little hole through him real fast, doing quite a bit of damage. Probably killing him, it's just that he doesn't know that he is dead yet.
(I know, multiple holes, and bullet selection)

Or you can throw 437.5 Grains of hollow point with EACH ROUND thrown at him, traveling at (+ or -) 1500 fps. LOTS of lead, moving a lot slower, tearing BIG chunks of brain and body parts off as it passes through.

Which sounds more effective in convincing the bear that he has LOST the battle RIGHT NOW?

Oh, and if it is not a bear, but happens to be a critter that walks upright, talks, and eats sitting at a table, that has entered my abode uninvited, well....the same reasons/tactics holds true.

This isn't the big one that started to push his nose through the window, he broke the plastic storm window, but not the glass. This is just a small one looking at me through the window, after having destroyed a hummingbird feeder. Making a mess of the syrup, getting it all over himself and the window I might add.

as the saying goes though "when seconds count, help is only minutes away" i live less than a mile from a police station. had a guy pull a gun on me when i asked him to not drive 85 on residential streets...took the police 20 minutes to show up.

as for my guns, i keep one chambered in both glocks, and my bond arms snake slayer, all within reach of the bed. in the gun cabinet, my 870 has one chambered and two in the tube, my AR15 has a full mag in the well with the bolt locked back and dust cover closed but if i need it i can grab it, slap the bolt release and go. my keltec sub2000 also has a full mag ready to go.
the two glocks have hornady critical defense/zombie max (cuz its the same thing and i found a couple places sell zombie max cheaper)
snake slayer has winchester PDX1 410
870 has 00buck
AR is mixed, JHP and FMJ and i think there may be a tracer or two in there
KT Sub 2000 has the same as the glocks

i dont have kids though...just a big goofy great dane who surprised me one night by nearly taking my leg off when he didnt recognize me comin through the door...i guess thats what i get for changing clothes after work and getting a ride home. he didnt hear my truck and knew what i left the house in and didnt return in it lol

I keep one pistol on nightstand and one under the bed in a metal box.That way I can roll out and have one in reach.I only have a small dog and when my grandaughter comes(18 month old) the door is shut.I was raised to respect them at a early age and tell my son to do the same as he was taught.He tells me he really charishes the memories of us shooting or hunting(really a noisy walk in the woods) and has become a real good shot.Now I am working on temper control since he carries.